The invention relates to a device for mounting the guide sleeve of a pressure-resistant drive cable for a sliding top of an automotive vehicle roof, this sliding top being covered toward the inside by a displaceable headliner, wherein the guide sleeve has a longitudinal slot, and the drive cable is attached, by means of a retaining device penetrating the longitudinal slot, to a transport bridge connected to the sliding top.
In conventional sliding roofs of the aforementioned type (DOS [German Unexamined Laid-Open Application] No. 2,461,018) the guide sleeve is supported only at its rear end and extends freely forwardly from its bearing point when the sliding top is pushed back entirely. Thereby, the guide sleeve can commence to oscillate, excited by vehicle vibrations, and give rise to noise by hitting the sliding top as well as the sliding top headliner.
To avoid such oscillations, it is conventional (German Pat. No. 1,228,950) to guide the guide sleeve telescopically in a tube attached to the sliding top. This solution is useless, in particular, for sliding roofs consisting of transparent material with a sliding dome displaceable independently thereof, since this tube, when the sliding top is entirely or partially closed while the sliding dome is pushed back, would be visible from the inside.
Finally, it is known in an automobile roof having a transparent sliding top (DAS [German Published Application] No. 2,502,775) to provide a bearing for the forward end of the guide sleeve on a fixed partition covering the rearward edge of the roof cutout between the sliding top and the sliding headliner. A prerequisite for such a bearing is, therefore, the presence of the aforementioned partition which represents an additional component.
The invention is based on the problem of providing a device for supporting the guide sleeve usable in connection with transparent as well as opaque sliding tops which, except for one bearing element, requires or presupposes no additional parts.
This problem is solved in accordance with this invention by arranging a guide means at the sliding headliner which supports the guide sleeve at least in the pushed-back position of the sliding headliner. The guide means can be attached so that it receives, in the pushed-back condition of the sliding headliner, the forward end of the guide sleeve, but in many cases a support at a spacing from the forward end will be sufficient, if the remaining, cantilevered section of the guide sleeve is so short that it cannot execute any appreciable oscillations. The guide means should extend in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle at least over half the width, but preferably over almost the entire width, of the sliding headliner.
A tubular bearing member can serve as the guide means, this member encompassing the guide sleeve with a sliding fit. In case of a sliding roof wherein the sliding headliner can be independently displaced, the bearing member is provided with a longitudinal slot which coincides in its position with the longitudinal slot of the guide sleeve, so that the retaining means for the drive cable can extend through the longitudinal slot and the sliding headliner can be pushed backwards even when the sliding top is closed. This is advantageous in case of sliding tops of a transparent material.
Alternatively, the guide means can be formed by a longitudinal groove arranged in the topside of the sliding headliner, a sliding block joined to the guide sleeve engaging this groove.
The bearing member consists preferably of a synthetic resin to avoid rattling noises. Alternatively, other known noise-damping measures can be provided, such as plastic coatings or fibrous coverings, on the bearing member or optionally also on the guide sleeve. To reduce friction, the bearing surface can be reduced by grooves so that this surface is formed only by the thus-produced ribs or webs. These webs can receive the guide sleeve elastically, especially in case of short bearing members.
These and further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, which show, for purposes of illustration only, several embodiments in accordance with the present invention.